Shencare Community Transport were awarded £10,000 through the Foundation’s Edgbaston & Northfield Neighbourhood Network Scheme (NNS) Fund in January 2021 to meet demand for their bespoke passenger transport service as a result of the effects on the local community due to COVID-19.
Shencare, based in Northfield in south-west Birmingham, provide an affordable and accessible door to door escorted passenger transport service for community groups, the elderly, and people with disabilities. They aim to provide a friendly and caring service to their beneficiaries and their carers.
The £10,000 grant was a lifeline to their services during the pandemic, Christopher Busst, Business Development Manager at Shencare, explains:
“We’re running 13 accessible mini-buses, our customers tend to be individuals but also other third-sector charities such as AGE UK, Age Concern, A Stroke Association as well as the local church groups.
“We also take a lot of referrals for patients going to hospital. The patients experience is enhanced and that of the carer of course, we charge a small amount that’s less than marginal costs.”
“Our income generation projects include home-to-school transport for specialist educational needs children on behalf of Birmingham City Council, that’s how we’re able to provide subsidised transport to meet our charitable aims.”
The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruption and financial insecurity for Shencare due to schools closing, meaning their usual way of making income was severely reduced and our Midas training for school teachers driving minibuses ceased altogether. The grant came just in time. Christopher added:
“The funding enabled us to do so much more in the community and we could continue working during the pandemic. Local health centres got in touch needing us to take elderly people for their COVID-19 vaccines, and more importantly we took them home afterwards to their living room, not the curb outside their house, to ensure they were okay afterwards.”
Beneficiary feedback:
“If it wasn’t for Shencare I wouldn’t have spoken to another soul all week.”
“Shencare is a lifeline.”
Christopher concluded:
“It’s alright having facilities everywhere but if people can’t get to them and access them then it’s no good. We’re a bespoke service, we’ve got wheelchair accessibility, the drivers are trained in disability awareness. Our beneficiaries are on first name terms with our drivers, we like to put the same driver on the same run so we get to know the people and their families.
“The funding really helped us survive the pandemic, it made a huge difference. A lot of the services we offer are invisible to the general public but we are improving our client’s lives.”
If you’d like to apply for funding please view our Available Grants here.